Jihad just means struggle, not holy war – New York City Education Department’s training sessions try to whitewash Jihadi hate crimes
https://www.opindia.com/2024/02/new-york-city-department-of-education-jihad/
On Tuesday, 27th February, New York City’s Department of Education (DOE)’s training sessions for teachers on understanding and combating anti-Muslim bias sparked controversy as it propagated that jihad means “struggle” and “effort” rather than a synonym for holy war. Jewish Chronicle first reported the sessions that led to a divide among the educators and the broader community. The Jewish teachers who attended the session in question titled “Understanding Muslim Experiences and Combating Anti-Muslim Bias” criticised the portrayal of concepts such as jihad and the interpretation of Sharia law.
The DOE’s training sessions are part of a more extensive anti-discrimination program where educators learn about different concepts. In these sessions, the educators were informed that jihad primarily signified “struggle” or “effort” rather than being a synonym for holy war. The examples that were used to explain jihad included personal struggles for fitness or building friendships, which practically detached the term from its violent associations with extremist groups. “Jihad is the Muslim concept of striving in the path of God,” the host reportedly said.
As per the New York Post’s report, some of the examples of explaining jihad during the sessions included “My jihad is to never settle short of my best effort”, “My jihad is to not judge people by their cover”, and “My jihad is to build friendship across the aisle”. The portrayal of jihad neglected the complexity of the issue and the historical use of the term to promote violence.
Another educator told the New York Post, “Jihad may mean struggle, but it’s disingenuous to omit that it is commonly used to mean holy war and then to say that the media outlets who use it that way just control the narrative.”
